


Teddy Bear

by EternalElegy



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28623279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalElegy/pseuds/EternalElegy
Summary: An old friend, thought to be long lost, finally returned to Nagisa's life.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Teddy Bear

“Nagisa-kun! Nagisa-kun!”

Hiyori bounded up to his seat in the recreation room, ignoring the fact that Nagisa’s feet were kicked up on the sofa. Nagisa’s book was interesting, but not as interesting as the sight of his childhood friend with his hands uncharacteristically hidden behind his back.   
“... Hiyori-kun. Are you hiding something?” Nagisa lowered the book to his lap.    
“Wow, you already figured out my secret!”   
“... What are you hiding?”    
“Do you remember Mochi?”   
“... Mochi? Ibara has been restricting my sugar intake, so I haven’t-”   
“No, I mean the teddy bear Mochi! Remember him?”

_ … Ah. _

Nagisa remembered that stuffed toy very well. Mochi was a slightly fluffy teddy bear, with two black beads for eyes and a perfectly shaped sewn smile. The head… that’s right, the feeling of hugging and squeezing the head… Hiyori had said that it reminded him of the mochi that they just had as a snack, so its name became Mochi. Hiyori had declared it with such a proud and triumphant smile, as if the teddy bear was actually an offering to him (rather than a gift from his parents to Nagisa), but Hiyori was happy and because of that, Nagisa was happy too. Mochi was in his arms, initially in a loose grip because it was still a foreign texture, but over time Nagisa began to hold Mochi with a tight hug, a warm feeling blooming in his chest whenever he came into contact with or even saw the toy.

Nagisa remembered Mochi very well, perhaps because it was the first time he became so attached to an inanimate object. It was almost as if Mochi was sitting in his lap right now, and he could reach forward and hug it and examine every single nook and cranny with his fingers. Every single small detail of the toy, including all of the imperfections that marked the toy over time, was crystal clear to Nagisa’s mind, all the way down to that joint in between the left ear and the head where a tiny bit of fluff was missing. Mochi’s gaze was objectively lifeless, but perhaps all of the roleplaying he did with Hiyori and the countless hours he spent with the toy gave it some kind of soul that only Nagisa could see. 

When Nagisa moved to live with his new foster family, he began to miss Hiyori, even though they spent time together every day at school. Rarely was Nagisa desperate, but that unpleasant tightness in his chest could not be calmed by anything except for the presence of his childhood friend and Mochi, who he had spent so much time with alongside Hiyori. Mochi was always there whenever they played together. Mochi couldn’t be there at the dinner table (otherwise it would get dirty, Hiyori’s parents said), but whenever meal time was over, Nagisa would return to their shared room and Mochi would be waiting there. Most importantly, however, was that Mochi was always there whenever Nagisa slept, the teddy bear safely in his arms, accompanying him as he drifted off into the land of dreams.

Except Mochi went missing during his move and Nagisa never saw it again.

The empty feeling in Nagisa’s arms never faded completely over time, and it had taken years for Nagisa to stop thinking about Mochi every night, and the consequent flood of memories of the missing toy that came with bedtime. 

“It turns out that they don’t sell that exact model of teddy bear anymore, but I managed to find some old photos and I got it made again!” Hiyori took his arms from behind his back to reveal a very familiar yet different toy that made Nagisa’s heart stop for a split moment. 

“... Mochi?” Nagisa sat properly on the sofa and put his book down on the arm rest to reach out to Hiyori, not quite believing what he was seeing.   
“It’s a reincarnation of Mochi! While his original body was lost, his soul came back to this new body! You’ve been his guardian for so long, Nagisa-kun, so I thought that I should rightfully return him to you.” 

Nagisa gently took the toy into his hands. His hands were now significantly bigger than before and holding Mochi therefore felt a little different. None of Mochi’s original imperfections were there; all the fluff was intact, the light brown colour wasn’t slightly faded and there was not a single stain on his features (Nagisa remembered accidentally spilling some jam on Mochi), but yet… 

Mochi’s soul. Nagisa could feel it.

“... Thank you, Hiyori-kun.” Nagisa wrapped his arms around it. He was a much bigger person now, but the toy in his arms was still Mochi all the same, even if the body was different.   
“Let’s all hug Mochi together, just like we did before!”

Fortunately the recreation room was currently empty, or they would have gotten a few strange looks.

* * *

Nagisa had the best night of sleep he ever had, all thanks to Mochi’s company.

Kaoru and Yuta thought that Mochi was cute.

* * *

_ A few days later... _

When the rest of Eden stumbled upon a reading Nagisa in the resting room, Jun and Ibara had quite the surprise when they noticed a brown teddy bear on his lap, its face positioned in such a way that it was as if the toy was reading alongside him.   
“Your Excellency?” Ibara had never sounded so confused in his life. He even knew what kind of person Nagisa truly was behind that powerful presence he held on stage, and yet this was something that was unexpected. His mouth opened and closed again, his brain too jumbled to speak coherently, let alone think.   
“Nagisa-kun! Mochi-san!” Hiyori called out, rushing over to his childhood friend to sit beside him. Nagisa’s attention was caught and that characteristic gentle smile appeared on his features.   
“... Hello, Hiyori-kun.”    
“What are you and Mochi-san reading about?”   
“... Ah. It is a book about philosophy that Ibara brought me two days ago. I think Mochi-san finds it confusing, but I will make sure to explain it to him properly tonight before we sleep.” Nagisa petted the teddy bear as he spoke.   
“Good idea!”

Jun looked to Ibara for answers, but only found a reflection of what he was feeling.    
“Nagi-senpai didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d like teddy bears,” Jun quietly remarked to his producer.   
“Upon further thought… I should have anticipated this. It’s possible that he had one when he was younger, and he does get attached to things quite easily,” Ibara returned, thankful that the two younger members of Eden were still out of earshot of the older ones.   
“Ah, that explains why he talks about you a lot. You probably spent a lot of time with him during high school, so now that you’re not around him a lot…” Ibara’s embarrassed expression was enough to make Jun grin.   
“Ahem, it is true that my management of him was tighter when I had more time. However, you must understand that nothing was done out of affection.”   
“Yeah yeah, I get you.” Jun didn’t sound like he completely believed it, but decided not to press further.

“... Ibara. Jun. Would you like to join us?” Nagisa beckoned the two over, while Hiyori smiled radiantly beside him. Ibara and Jun sighed at the same time before making their way towards their seniors.

While they conversed about work and other random topics, Nagisa felt happier knowing that Mochi had returned to his life again, as another member of his found family.

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to [gigi (@amagiiz)](https://twitter.com/amagiiz?s=20) for beta reading this work!


End file.
